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1. stepwinder says:

   July 6, 2008 at 2:36 am

   The Federalist is future-seeing. Past experiences provide lessons to consider in an open inquiry rather than definitions to conclude a closed case.

   The Federalist is interested in inquiry, experimenting, and making propositions. They use words to tell us what is possible.

   Too abstract? I can’t imagine seeing an explanation like that in the average textbook!

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2. hobbes21 says:

   July 6, 2008 at 12:59 pm

   As Larry suggests, there is an optimism present in federalism, a trust that the energy can be harnessed.

   There’s also the notion that we’ll be okay without so many fences, which demonstrates an overall faith in humanity. Note: government is limited, not folks. Gotta love the Ninth Amendment.

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3. Mutter says:

   July 7, 2008 at 3:13 am

   Note: Hobbes21 and Stepwinder are superior beings. I would be okay with aristocracy if their ilk ran things.

   F/A-F characterizations typically are couched in for/against the Constitution terms. Wish there was a paper or article that listed the most important/fundamental characteristics of the F and A-F perspectives. For each characteristic, a passage from the Federalist Papers would be cited, or from Centinel or Agrippa, or from Aristotle and Cicero, or from Hobbes and Locke or from….

   My point is that I would like a handy reference tool, or even an academic paper, that gets at roots.

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4. stepwinder says:

   July 8, 2008 at 12:42 am

   So, Mutter, are you willing to pay for this?

   Well, the We the People text (high school) provides some technical answers specifically related to the debate over the Constitution in Lessons 15 through 17. I’m assuming I’ll get to take a closer look at the new edition when I’m in L.A. and I have my fingers crossed that this discussion will be expanded a bit to include their more theoretical commitments.

   Otherwise, I’m officially a starving student in September. Perhaps we should re-visit this then?
   ;^)

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